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09-06-2019, 06:31 PM | #1 |
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Engine grounding help
Hey guys, I messed up bad. I broke the engine ground strap bolt in the oil pan flush off. I'm panicking pretty badly, because I think this is going to be a pricey job to fix.
Any ideas of how to get the bolt out of the pan? There is little to no room (had to fabricate a shallow socket) Is there anywhere else I can ground the engine? Or I my only option to drop the pan and drill it out? Please help |
09-06-2019, 08:17 PM | #2 |
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There are a few places to ground the motor but not all are easy to get to. When my ground broke, I temporarily made one from the engine lift eye on the top of the motor to the factory ground point next to the coolant reservoir. I used some battery cable as the ground cable.
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09-06-2019, 08:47 PM | #4 |
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It needs to be bare metal. I had to remove the lift eye and sand it to bare metal. Paint interferes with the ground. The more you look the more places you might find. You can buy replacement ground straps at auto parts stores. If the ring terminal is too big, you can use a bolt with a washer.
Probably you can drill out the broken stud. But be very patient about that. It must be done carefully. |
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09-07-2019, 02:43 AM | #8 |
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The only problem is the lack of room, I'll try the Dremel method and see if that works. A drill with an easy out wouldn't have enough room
Ideally if I could find another grounding point that's permanent, I would just forget about the bolt and move on. Any ideas on another ground point? |
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09-07-2019, 06:25 AM | #9 |
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Any hole on the engine block or accessory bolted to the block can work. You just have to look carefully to find ones you can get to. Might not find any empty holes. Might have to remove a bolt to attach a ground cable. My temporary one is still in place a year later and I will probably leave it as an extra ground.
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09-07-2019, 06:36 AM | #10 | |
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Quote:
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09-07-2019, 06:43 AM | #11 |
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It’s ugly. Most would rather have a ground that is out of sight but at the time, I could not quickly find an easy place underneath. There probably are some. Remember clean metal works best (even though the bolt is going into the block) so grind off any paint.
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09-07-2019, 08:21 PM | #12 | |
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Turns out the route of my initial problem was the starter after all. Changing that tomorrow. $450 later... |
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09-07-2019, 09:07 PM | #13 |
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Don’t feel bad. I changed the battery, alternator, and starter before I found the bad ground.
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06-13-2021, 01:40 AM | #14 | |
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thx |
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06-13-2021, 04:43 AM | #15 |
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No, but it was a tight space to work in. I might have used a box end wrench on the socket rather than a ratchet; I can’t remember and recently sold the car so I can’t go look to see if that refreshes my memory.
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